


Bad Day

by DarkMidniteMage



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Gen, autistic!joshua, mentions of misgendering, trans!joshua, warnings for negative harmful stims
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 04:03:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16653910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMidniteMage/pseuds/DarkMidniteMage
Summary: When Joshua wakes to the sound of his alarm clock, he knows it's going to be a bad day.





	Bad Day

When Joshua wakes to the sound of his alarm clock, each note sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

 

He immediately knows it's going to be a bad day, everything amplified. The dots of glitter on the floor. The texture of the digital clock's cord as he yanks it from the wall. The eerie silence the action from before brings. The rustle of his blanket when he moves from his bed. The sound of his feet padding along the floor.

 

The world covers with static, dark green and violet mixed into a pixelated cloud that nearly makes him fall. A headache trills, an irritant against his skull.

 

Joshua… doesn't care.

 

He's not about to worry Mr. Hanekoma about this, not about to worry Neku by not being at school, and definitely not going to acknowledge this today. He gets past the dizziness, pulling himself away from the wall and retrieving his school uniform. He puts it on, cringing at the texture of the buttons of the shirt. Now that he’s dressed, he heads for the kitchen. He goes after a poptart, deciding he doesn’t want to deal with the texture of anything else. He chews on it while he retrieves his schoolbag from the living room, then goes back to his bedroom and cleans up a bit. He turns off the light, then heads for the bathroom and brushes his teeth and hair.

 

He turns off the bathroom light, then heads to begin his morning commute. After slipping into his shoes, he heads downstairs and out the back door of the café.

 

**~+~**

 

Joshua has long since realized that he was very much mistaken.

 

When he enters through the school gates and approaches the middle school building, he’s pulled aside gently by an orange spiked teen. Neku gently holds Joshua’s wrist away from the other with one hand, reaching into his bag and taking out Theraputty with the other before setting it into his hands. There are small scratches on the surface of his hands, but no broken skin. Neku releases Josh’s wrist, and Joshua puts the putty into his bag.

 

“Are you okay to be here today…?” Neku asks in concern. “You look like this is a bad day.”

 

Joshua tries to force himself to speak, but his voice doesn’t come up. He sighs and raises his hands. 

 

_ [I can handle this. I’m fine.] _

 

Neku looks unsure. “Josh, if you need to go home, I’m sure Mr. Hanekoma would be okay with it.”

 

_ [I’ll be fine, Neku.] _

 

The bell rings at that moment. Joshua winces at the shrill noise when it lingers in his ears.

 

“Josh-”

 

_ [I’m fine. I really am. We need to get to class.] _

 

Before Neku can argue, Joshua steps away from him and flashes a small smile. He heads for his classroom, and he hopes to the Higher Planes that he can make it through.

 

**~+~**

 

Being in the classroom… was a horrible idea.

 

There’s millions of tiny sounds. Little sniffles, rustles of clothing, scratching of pencils, shuffling papers, and one kid is chewing gum (with his mouth open, to be concise) despite school policy. The texture of the desk is rough under Joshua’s skin, and his hands insistently tap against each other while he tries to draw his attention away. When he catches himself scratching, he moves his right hand to tapping against his left wrist. He hears whispering behind him, and the noise is grating on his ears.

 

_ “Yoshimi’s acting weird today,” _ one girl whispers.

 

_ “I know, right? Guess she missed her medications this morning.” _

 

There’s quiet laughter after it, but it’s sharp and twisting into the headache he already has. Joshua stands up abruptly. He doesn’t even pick up his bookbag before he sprints from the room. 

 

He doesn’t care when his teacher calls his old name, doesn’t care that he doesn’t know where he’s going. His feet direct him towards a familiar location on impulse. The world flashes by, a cacophony of dark and light mixing and blurring by. He slows, chest constricted when he nears an (almost) safe space.

 

**~+~**

 

Neku knows something’s wrong. He’d seen the flash of blonde pass his classroom in a hurry, He completes the worksheet he’d been assigned as quickly as he can without making mistakes, then approaches his teacher. Mr. Kanagi looks down at him.

 

“May I please go to the library? I’ve completed my assignment.”

 

Neku holds out the sheet for his teacher to examine. The teacher looks it over critically, as if expecting a huge mistake or incomplete problem. After a minute, he sighs.

 

“Yes, you may. Please avoid being late to your next class.”

 

Neku thanks him, setting the assignment in the turn in basket on his way out. Neku closes the door, letting instincts take over and direct him towards Joshua. He’s guided down the hallway, lead to the library (he’s glad he was correct in that), and he walks in. Neku feels the invisible force bring him towards the back of the room.

 

The second he spots the shivering, curled mass with his eyes screwed shut and hands clamped over his ears, he’s by Joshua’s side. Neku pulls his headphones from his bag, moves Joshua’s hands, then places them over his head. Joshua looks up as Neku turns on the instrumental track, and Neku can see he’s been crying. He pulls Josh close, pulling out his phone and pulling up his conversation history with Mr. Hanekoma. Neku feels Joshua shift, burying his head into his chest, but he doesn’t mind. Better for him to block it out than to take it all in. He redirects Joshua’s clawing hands with putty again as he types up a message to Mr. H.

 

**_**^** Josh had a crash. **^**_ **

 

The reply comes two minutes later. _**^**_ **_On my way. **^**_ **

 

Neku sets his phone down, holding Joshua with both arms. He weaves his hand through strands of Joshua’s unkempt hair, feeling everything of Joshua tilting, falling, and spilling out in a shaky whisper.

 

“I-I th-thought I c-could handle i-it…”

 

Neku quiets him, fingers brushing away the tears that fall. Joshua’s still shaking, and Neku pulls him close. His phone chirps, and he lifts it with one hand to check the message.

 

**_^Where_ ** **_are you two? Need to let school supervision know. **^**_ **

 

**_**^** Library **^**_ ** , Neku texts back, and he sets his phone down. 

 

A few minutes pass. He tries his best to calm Joshua down, and it seems to almost work. Neku hears the door to the library open, and he’s on edge as he hears heels click in approach. Neku doesn’t let his guard down, not even when it’s the guidance counselor. She keeps her distance, but still speaks up.

 

“Yoshimi Kiryu and Neku Sakuraba?”

 

Neku feels like arguing Joshua’s name with her, but knows it’s a needless battle right now. What matters is that Joshua is safe.

 

“I need Yoshimi to come with me.”

 

Joshua hears this, and he stiffens. He moves closer to Neku.

 

“I… don’t think he wants to let go of me…” Neku sighs.

 

The counselor seems to think for a moment, then speaks up. She corrects her use of pronouns this time. “If you escort him as well, would he come with?”

 

Joshua still seems a bit uneasy, but he nods. Neku sees the counselor gesture for them to stand, and he’s gentle with Joshua while he pulls him up. He keeps an arm around Joshua in reassurance while they follow the counselor out of the library and towards the front entrance of the school silently. Neku guides him outside, towards where Mr. Hanekoma is waiting for him by his car. Joshua feels a bit of nervousness bite at him while Mr. Hanekoma drives him home. The music from Neku’s headphones still plays quietly, soothing him. It’s a short drive back to Cat Street, and it doesn’t take long for Josh to be ushered upstairs to his room with very little force. Mr. Hanekoma directs him to his bed, tucking him in. It’s odd, being that Joshua’s thirteen, but he’s put under an Imprint to sleep a few moments later.

 

**~+~**

 

Neku texts his mother the instant he gets out of school to say he’s going over to Joshua’s. His mother only texts back that he shouldn’t stay out too late, and he replies that he won’t before he sprints for Cat Street. He was too worried to focus today, still worried that Joshua wasn’t okay. He passes things without looking at them, intent on making absolute certain Joshua’s okay.

 

He’s breathless when he reaches WildKat, but he heads inside hurriedly. Mr. Hanekoma gestures him upstairs when he comes in, and he heads that way with a small sign of [Thank you,] in Mr. H’s direction. Neku knows the way to Joshua’s room, has long since committed it to memory, and he moves quickly. When he reaches Joshua’s door, he finally stops to catch his breath. It’s only then that he realizes he can barely see, his vision blurred from limited air. He slides down the wall, breathing in, breathing out, and then his breathing is starting to level out. When he’s ready to, he stands up and quietly opens Joshua’s door. 

 

When he slips inside, Joshua’s awake. He still seems tired, and Neku closes the door gently behind him and sits on the edge of his bed. Josh looks over.

 

_[You doing alright now?]_ Neku signs.

 

_[Sort of,]_ Joshua signs back.

 

_ [Is it okay if I join you?] _

 

Joshua knows what Neku means. He nods, lifting the blanket up. Neku pushes himself up, slips his shoes off, then slides into bed beside Joshua. The second he’s close enough, Joshua nuzzles up against him. It’s only a small, incredibly innocent action on Joshua’s part, but that doesn’t mean Neku doesn’t turn a bit redder.Joshua’s tiredness seems to be rubbing off on him, and Neku yawns. It’s warm beneath the covers, and the soft Music Neku can hear drifting off of Josh lulls him to sleep. Joshua follows soon after.

 

**~+~**

 

~~ **_A gun fires, He falls. He wasn’t able to save him. It was his  f  a   u   l   t   t   h   a     t     .      .      ._ ** ~~

 

“Neku, wake up…”

 

Neku’s eyes shoot open. He lays against soft pillows, but he feels liquid slipping down his skin. His mind drifts back to his dream.

 

. . . o h .

 

Before he can retreat into himself, Josh holds him closely and whispers in his ear softly. “It was only a nightmare, Neku… You’re fine…”

 

Neku trusts Joshua. Joshua wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t.

 

...would he?


End file.
